Joseph douglass



JOSEPH DOUGLASS, Oli"A MCGONNELLSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA Laim Patent No. 76,421, @ma Apa'z 7, 186s.

IMPROVED DEVICE FOB. MOVING GARS.

@its .Stimuli referat it in tipa trttets @aient mit mating pat nttlge time.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY OONCERN:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH DOUGLASS, of McConnellstown, in the county of Huntingdon, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and improved Device for Moving Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, suihcient to enable those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make use of it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation.

Figure 2 is a top view.

Figure 3ds a detached View of the spring and cap; and

Figure 4 is a detached perspective view, showing the end of the cap in position on the rail.

The' object of this invention is to furnishl a cheap, durable, and convenient portable instrument, by which heavy cars can be started and moved along the track by hand without diiculty, whether the track be inclined or level. a. Y

In the drawings, A represents the rail, and B thecarwheel resting upon it. C is an iron cap, wide enough to cover the top of a rail, and having its side ed'ges slightly turned down, forming ianges ce, which bear against the sides of the rail, and hold the cap in position upon it. At the ends of the cap the flanges may be enlarged into lugs c c', if thought necessary, to grasp the rail more firmly. The under side of the capis made slightly' concave in order to fit thevtrcad of the rail, and has attached to it a sto'ut spring, D, the movable end of which clasps the tread of the rail by means of lugs (Z CZ. The cap C, at the end which isdesigned to come next to the car-wheel, is slightly depressed, as seen at-a. Its opposite end terminates in a stout, sharp blade, E, attached by a tongue and rivet, or other suitable'means, which is designed to rest-upon the top of the rail when the force is applied to move the car, and by the action of its concave-edged blade, E, upon the rail, to prevent theinstrument from'slipping back lfrom the wheel. i

To the upper or convex surface of the cap C is attached stout upright standard, F, forming the fulcrum of a lever, Gr. The foot of the standard is elongated so as to operate as a guide to direct the motion of a sliding chock, which works back and forth longitudinally upon the cap, the elongated foot operating in a slot, s, through the chock. The outer end of the chock is enlarged or provided with a transverse block, h. lhe inner end of the chock may be connected with the handle of the lever by means of a rod, I, having a ring upon its extremity, through which the lever passes.V

The operation of this simple and convenient device is as follows: The instrument is placed upon the rail as seen in figs. l and 4, the depressed end of the cap is slid up against the car-wheel,y the lever assuming the` position shown in iig. 1. By'depressng thehandle of-the lever, the resistance of the 'spring D is overcome, and the cap is forced down, bringingthe sharp blade E in contact with the rail, and confining the instrument in position. At the-same time the short arm of the lever forces the carwheel along upon the track. i

If the track is level, the chockv H may allthe while be retracted and kept out of the way of the Wheel, as there will he no danger that the latter will run backas soon as the lever is removed from it. But if the instru ment be applied to move the car up an incline, itwill be necessary to slide the chock forward so as to scotch the wheel when thelever is removed. The chock being slid forward under the wheel, the handle of the lever is -to be raised and the cap C slid forward as far as it will go, when, by`depressing the handle, the wheel is again moved for ward as before. The whole operation canbe performed by me'ans of the handle, without the necessity of stoop ing to adjust or operate any part of the instrument. On a level road only two movements will be required-first, sliding the cap up to the wheel; secondly, applying the leverto move the wheel forward. On an upward incline there will be three movements-tima sliding the cap up to the wheel; secondly, applying the lever; thirdly, `sliding the chock against the wheel. These operations being-repeated, will move the car along quite rapidly and with great ease. v

The instrument is small, convenient to handle, and can be made at little expense. There is nothing about it that is liable to getout of order.

I do not design to limit myself to a slotted chock` guided exactly in the manner described, but Wish to be at liberty to use any kind of a sliding chock, attached to and working upon the cap C in any practicable manner'.

Having thus`d-esoribed my invention, what I claim as new, und desire tio secure by Letters Patent, is- 1. The combination of' the lever G,cap C, and sliding chock H; "when arranged so us to'opcrato together:

A sbstantiaily in'the manner and for the purposes yspocifd.

2., The combination of the cap 0,' springv D, n .nd' blade E; for the purpose of supporting` und holding the other ports of the instrument in position, substantially as specified,

JOSEPH DUGLASS.,

Witnesses:

PETER SWooPE,

THEO. H, OREMER. 

